Command & Conquer: The Grim Truth
by Ferrebee
Summary: A new take on Tiberian Dawn Rated M for a reason.


North Carolina, GDI base Hope--1030 hrs. Situation: Yellow

"And in other news, The UN has announced that they will in fact, declare the European Union at a State of war with NOD Terror groups. As of this time, its unknown what it is exactly the Terrorist's leader, Kane is up to, but reports speculate that it has someting to do with the recent meteor contact in Italy. We go live to on the scene reporter, Jerry Bloomer. Jerry?"

--"Yes, Sarah, As you can see behind me, Civilians are fleeing from their homes and heading toward refugee centers the UN has put up. These people are terrified at the thought of being pillaged by Terrorist forces, but, the peacekeeping forces that have already been dispatched here, say that there is no real danger to the civilians, as long as they stay out of the way. Until then, Sarah, all we can do is wait."

"Thank you, Jerry. And now, lets see whats on the wheather today. Craig? I hear those storm clouds are comin into the southwest..."

A brief moment of static, and the channel changed.

"So, Dr. Mobius, you say that the meteor that crashed into Italy, was carrying an outer-dimensional mineral, unbeknowest to the human race?"

--"Thats Correct, Jim. I speculate that, this new mineral could have limitless possibilites in the world. We're still delving into the research, but, as far as we know, this mineral is worth more than its weight in gold! I believe, if we can harvest this new mineral, and find out how it ticks, it can benefit our society."

"I see...how did it first get its name, which is Tiberium?"

--"Ah. Well, the day the meteorite crashed into the Tiber River in Italy, I had began to study it, and I christened it Tiberium. It was a remarkable find, and it will thrust our civilization in new direct-"

The TV was shut off, as a few men sitting on a sofa groaned.

"Alright, boys, enough schoolin'. We got ourselves a job to do." A man said from the doorway. He was short, but not too short, about 5' 9, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He had a cigarette in his mouth, and it was lit, since he was taking short puffs of it every once in awhile. In his left hand was the remote to the television that was shut off. The men who were on the couch were only privates, while the man in the doorway was a sergeant. He walked up to the small group of soldiers and pointed at the clock. "C.O Wants a meeting before we get shipped out to Italy. So, get squared away and head to the hangar when you're ready." With that, the Sergeant walked out, taking the remote with him.

"...Damn it," One of them said, skinny, but built. He was in uniform, but everything was untucked and left hanging out, "I don't belive they're gonna send us over there, man...bunch of bullshit!" His accent was heavily influenced from the south, and it showed in his demanor, his slick back hair, his posture sitting down, even how he ate screamed redneck.

"And what the hell do you want us to do about it, Jacobs," another said. He was average build, african american, with a small afro. "Ya want us all to chip in for your sorrow? Fuck that, Cracka. Even your whitey friends wouldn't help you out."

"-Oh shut the fuck up, Peyton. You're so full of it."

Another soldier walked in through the doorway. He was also an NCO, but much higher in rank than an sergeant. 3 Chevrons and 3 Rockers displayed the rank of Master Sergeant, and he lived up to the name. He puffed on his cigar, as he was already dressed up for combat. "Could you maggots keep it down? Some of us are trying to nap before the damn thing..." He said groggily.

--"Oh, we're sorry, Sarge. We didn't mean to wake you up from your beauty sleep," Said another soldier, a bit built, with a slight Jersey Accent."

"Its no problem, Private. You guys got 10 minutes. I suggest you stop circle-jerking, and get ready." With that, he walked out, heading outside toward the Hangar. He knew he couldn't sleep again, it was too late for that, he might as well just head out. As he walked toward the hangar, he heard a ring in his pocket. As he pulled out his cell phone, he answered it, looking at his watch. "Yes?"

"Vince! Its Gary! You know where I'm at!" The voice yelled.

--"No. I don't. Now what the hell do you want, or I'm hangin up-"

"NO! Don't hang up! This is extremely important! I'm in Brussels right now! We just got roused up from last night and we're on high alert! I got a short break off, so I just want you to relay a message to Mike, ok!"

--"What is it?" He asked, nearing the hangar. "You need to speed this up, I'm about to go into a meeting."

"Tell him that I probably won't make his wedding!" With that, the line cut off. Vince quietly hung up and pocketed the cell phone, before he walked inside the hangar, where a mass of troops were standing at ease. As he reached the formation, and officer walked up to him. Vince instinctively saluted and the officer saluted back. "Good you could make here on time, Vince."

"Yeah, well, I'm always one to get everywhere either early, on time, or I won't show up at all, Mike..." He said, smacking his arm like they did back in high school.

--"So, who called you? I could see you from out there..."

"Its Gary. He says they're on high alert in Brussels. He probably won't make it to your wedding."

--"Aw..thats a shame...Well, go ahead and find a spot, the com-link is about to be engaged..." With that, the two men parted ways, Vince going into the formation, While Mike was in behind of them, watching from the rear.

The lights dimmed and slowly, an image came up, showing an aged man, probably in his mid-50s, dressed in a Army Dress Green Uniform, with the GDI Eagle crest behind him.

"Good Morning, Good Afternoon, and Good Evening. I am Lieutenant General Shepherd. I know most of you have seen me in pictures or in the media, but that is un-important right now. Right now, our main initiative is simple. Stop NOD. I know most of you are just fresh from basic, or have never seen combat. This is where you get your fears behind you, your inexperience shattered by brute reality. Its difficult to comprehend, I know. But it must be done. All of you are soldiers. Thats what you signed up for. You knew this day would come sooner or later...Now...As of 21:32 Zulu, All active and reserve GDI forces are being sent into Europe. We are at war, Ladies and Gentlemen. Its time we did what was neccessary. That is all."

As the lights turned on, the lieutenant was about to dismiss his platoon, when a figure stepped through the door. The lieutenant called the platoon to attention, and saluted the colonel that had just stepped in and in front of the lieutenant.

"Colonel Dawson, A Company, 4th Platoon ready for action, sir!"

-"At ease, Lieutenant...You boys are the first ones out tonight. So, dismiss your men, and get ready for a nights bumpy ride."

"Yes sir!" The lieutenant said, saluting. When the salute was returned, the platoon leader did an about-face, and told the platoon to fall out and get ready.

-------9 hours later-------

"Grim. Wake up...Grim...Corporal Grimsire!"

-"Huh, wha..." A young trooper muttered as he opened his eyes to daylight.

"You were sleeping...Again."

-"Oh...sorry, Sarge..."

"Its ok, Rookie. Happens to all of us. You nervous?"

-"...A bit..." Grim muttered, sitting up straight, and pulling out a cigarette from his vest pocket, placing it in his mouth. As he slowly reached for his lighter, the sergeant stopped him, and looked at him square in the eye.

"Son...You better make sure you clench that damn thing when we drop."

-"Yes, Sarge."

As he finished his sentence, the green light inside their container lit up. The two of them, along with the rest of the company, got ready. Grim finally remembered where he was. He was in a C-130, over the Coast of Spain. Apparently, NOD had a small outpost there, and had started to send their units there to send an invasion force into France. Company A from the 437th were going to be the first ones in, and they were ready. Paratrooper ready. As the green light blinked repeatedly, the paratroopers started to drop in. Grimm was in the middle, with his sergeant right behind him. As he finally lit his cigarette, he took a short puff, before he started to shuffle toward the opening. As he peeked his head down to see the ground, he knew he was far away from it, and one slip-up could make him a pancake. As he bit down on the cigarette filter, he jumped out, the line tearing the top of his parachute, opening it, allowing him to drop slowly to the ground. Already he could see a few lines of light. They were a bit distracting, until one of them flew past his parachute. He gasped slighty and looked back down.

They were trying to shoot him down. Instinctively, Grim swung his parachute to the left, avoiding the compound straight ahead. As he and a few others neared the ground, he finally noticed that the object he was about to land into wasn't a tree, but a radio tower. As he grazed the peak of it, it tore up a side of his parachute. As he continued descending, the parachute tore more and more. As soon as he was 20 feet up, he looked up at the parachute. It was just moments away from tearing apart. He desperately pulled the cords off, and began to freefall. He could feel himself tumbling through the trees, and finally hitting dirt. As he slowly worked his way to his feet, he could hear footsteps approaching his position. He quickly looked for a weapon with his hands, touching his utility belt, until he pulled out his pistol, pulling back the chamber. As the footsteps got closer, they slowed down to a slow trot, then to walking speed. Grim quietly moved backwards behind a bush, and peeked from the brush. His eyes looked upon a NOD soldier. His rifle was gripped tightly in his hands. Grim knew that the only way he could be any help to his comrades was to commandeer that rifle. And fast.

The Nod trooper quietly walked closer, and closer, almost on top of Grim, who was quietly standing up, trying to get a better angle. The dense forest and foliage blocked out most of the light, which worked to Grims advantage. Quickly, Grim reached over and grabbed the troopers' neck, forcing him down, shoving the barrel of the pistol into his ribcage, firing three times. The struggling Trooper stopped and slowly went limp. Grim took a deep breath and looked at the man. He had just killed this man. Someone who probably had a wife and kid, and was trying to do his job...but this man tried to kill him. And Grim did what he had to do to complete his mission. He bit a bit more into his cigarette filter, taking a drag of it, before he ripped the rifle out of the man's dead hands, along with his ammo, before he started heading toward the distant sound of gunfire.


End file.
